It is to be appreciated that high energy Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO) frequency convertors typically suffer from poor beam quality due to the need for large pump spot sizes in order to prevent optical damage to the crystals. The poor beam quality, an example of which is generally shown in FIG. 3, in turn, limits the useful range of Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) systems and/or requires the use of large optics thereby increasing the overall size, weight and associated cost of the electro-optical system.
As is well known in the art, LIDAR is a surveying method that measures a distance to a target by illuminating that target with a laser beam or light. LIDAR is popularly used to make high-resolution maps, with applications in geodesy, geomatics, archaeology, geography, geology, geomorphology, seismology, forestry, atmospheric physics, laser guidance, Airborne Laser Swath Mapping (ALSM), and laser altimetry. LIDAR sometimes is called laser scanning and 3D scanning and has terrestrial, airborne, and mobile applications.